An airplane house is pictured in the village of Miziara, northern Lebanon May 12, 2015. Miziara prides itself on building residential homes that resemble ancient Greek temples and Egyptian ruins, one is even built in the shape of an Airbus A380. (Photo by Aziz Taher/Reuters)

Only the most intrepid urban explorers cross the tattered ruins of the old Iron Curtain to endure the excessive bureaucracy, military paranoia and freezing winds of the East to hunt for the ghosts of an empire. Rebecca Litchfield is one who couldn’t resist the haunting allure of the ruins of the Soviet Union.

A work by Chinese artist ROBBBB is seen on a wall in the ruins of a building in Beijing September 27, 2015. The 25-year-old artist in Beijing prefers to display his work on the walls of abandoned buildings, rather than a gallery. His artwork is mostly derived from photos of people he sees in the Chinese capital, anyone ranging from elderly people to construction workers. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

Qian Hao's imported Pekingese dog, Mixiu, runs in a park in Beijing, China, February 8, 2018. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

American singer and model Ciara in the second decade of March 2023 makes a very important phone call. (Photo by ciara/Instagram)

A resident looks at a parade marking the 496th anniversary of Panama City, Panama August 15, 2015. Modern-day Panama City includes the historical ruins of the original Panama Viejo settlement founded on August 15, 1519 by Spaniard Pedro Arias Davila, according to local media. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)

Castle rising in the mist on April 14, 2022. Castle Rising is a ruined medieval fortification in the village of Castle Rising, Norfolk, England. It was built soon after 1138 by William d'Aubigny II, who had risen through the ranks of the Anglo-Norman nobility to become the Earl of Arundel. (Photo by Terry Harris/The Times)

An Afghan boy plays in the ruins of a house that at one point belonged to the 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar and Sufi mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi on the outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif on November 25, 2015. (Photo by Farshad Usyan/AFP Photo)